Shower bath head



ESTEP ,062 SHOWER BATH HEAD Filed 8, 1953 FIE-L2 /I/IIIII' 4| II (a I 1 1 r l I INVENTOR M/LEs E. Es-rsp ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 9, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 11 Claims.

This invention has to do in a general way with devices for spraying liquids, and is more particularly related to a novel spray head which is especially adapted for use in connection with shower 5 baths. As is well known, the conventional type of shower bath comprises an enlarged chamber or head provided with a perforated end wall through which the liquid is sprayed in a multiplicity of small streams. Devices of this character have several inherent defects, chief among which are, the liability of the minute openings in the head becoming clogged and the continual dripping which occurs for a substantial period of time after the water is shut off.

It is a primary object of this invention to produce a spray head of small and compact construction which will use a minimum amount of water, and is formed so as to entirely eliminate any liability to drip or leak after the water is shut off;

also, to further eliminate any orifices or apertures which may become clogged to impair the action of the shower.

It is an important feature of the device contemplated by this invention that the spray produced thereby is of extremely fine nature, being mist-like in form but having sui'ficient velocity to produce a cleansing'and invigoratingefiect when used as a shower bath.

It is a still further object of this invention to produce a device of the class described which can be easily adjusted to give either a wide or narrow spray. This feature is particularly advantageous to shower installations where the shower head is situated a substantial distance above the person using thesame where the narrow spray can be employed to obtain a thorough shower 1 without wetting the hair.

The shower contemplated by this invention operates upon. a principle which is entirely different from the usual type of shower bath in that the water entering the spray head is first given a swirling movement in a large inlet chamber after which it passes through a restricted throat to give it velocity, and then enters a distributing chamber or distributor head of larger diameter where it is admixed with air drawn into the distribution chamber through ports in its wall by virtue of velocity in the liquid stream. The combined action of the air, together with the swirling liquid stream and its high velocity are effective to tear the water up or disseminate it so that the discharge spray is extremely fine and is of uniform density throughout its area at any point. In a preferred form of my invention, I make the distributor head axially adjustable relative to the restricted throat, and through adjustment of this head I am able to govern the spread of the spray over a substantial area.

It is a further feature of the construction contemplated by this invention that it can be employed to produce sprays of various shapes, such as a spray which is wider in one direction than the other, by modifying the shape of the opening of the nozzle or discharge chamber. 4

It is to be understood that, while I have referred to the spray head as being especially for T i: use in a shower bath, the device may find application in numerous other fields. For example, the spray head, contemplated by this invention, in view of its ability to break the water up into an extremely fine spray, may find especial appli cation in a cooling system where the water is cooled by spraying it into the atmosphere. In this connection, the feature of drawing air into the spray head itself during the passage of water therethrough, is effective to materially cool the 1:; water so as to minimize the danger or liability of scalding when it is used in connection with a shower bath.

The details in the construction of a preferred form of my invention, together with other objects attending its production will'be best understood from the following description of the accompanying drawing which is chosen for illustrative purposes only, and in which- 5 Fig. 1 is an elevational view illustrating a pre- 1 ferred form of my invention as being embodied in a shower bath;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional elevation further illustrating the details in the construction of a preferred form of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a plan section taken in a plane represented by the line 3-3 in. Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a preferred form of slotted bottom or diaphragm which is employed in the inlet end of the distributor chamber;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation showing a modified form of distributor head; and

Fig. 6 is an end view of the head shown in Fig. 5.

More particularly describing the invention as herein illustrated, reference numeral 11 indicates a spray head which is shown as being mounted on the outlet end of a pipe or conduit 12 which forms a part of a shower bath unit.

"The details in the construction of this preferred form of spray head are best illustrated in Figs. 2 to 4 inclusive where it is shown as comprising a body 13 having an enlarged inlet chamher 14 at its upper end, such chamber terminating in a restricted throat passage 15, the throat passage in turn opening into what I may term a distributing chamber 16. It will be observed that the chamber 14, the throat passage 15, and the passage through the distributor chamber 16 are all substantially coaxial so that a stream of liquid entering from the pipe 12 will pass directly through these three chambers in succession.

This particular form of my invention is formed so that the spray can be adjusted angularly relative to the supporting pipe 12 for projecting the same in various directions. With this in view, the body 13 is formed on its upper end with a ball 17 which contains the inlet chamber 14 and which is received in a socket comprising a collar 18 flanged at its lower end as indicated at 19 to support a washer 20 which engages the underside of the ball, such collar being in threaded engagement as indicated at 21 with a nut or bushing 22 which in turn is threaded to the end of the pipe member 12.

As was pointed out above, it is a feature of this device that the liquid, in passing therethrough, is first given a swirling motion. In this form of my invention, such movement is imparted to the liquid by means of a diaphragm 24 which is shown as comprising a button or disk threaded into the interior of the inlet chamber 14.

Ihe diaphragm is provided with a screw slot 25 to facilitate its installation, and for the purpose of imparting theswirling movement to the liquid, the diaphragm is provided with a plurality of slots 27, (preferably radially disposed) all of which are inclined relative to both the plane and axis of the disc, in the same general direction so as to impart rotative movement to the liquid as it is discharged from the slots. The liquid thus enters the chamber 14 in a swirl and rotates downwardly through the restricted throat passage 15 whereby its velocity is materially increased. The liquid is still swirling and is traveling at an extremely high velocity when it enters the distributing chamber 16.

In order that the stream of liquid thus entering the liquid chamber may be torn up or disseminated and mixed with air, I provide a plurality of air inlet ports 28 in the wall of the distributor chamber, such ports preferably being located in a plane which is situated below or adjacent the point at which the liquid is discharged from the restricted throat.

distributor head as a separate piece which is threaded to the exterior of the throat portion I 15 whereby it may be adjusted axially relative to the throat portion as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 2. By virtue of this adjustment, the character of the spray may be changed from one of the type indicated in dotted lines at S in Fig. 2,

.where the distributor member is in its lowermost position and in which the spray is of extremely narrow character, to a spray of the type indicated at S, which is obtained when the distributornovaooz invention which is especially adapted for use as a wall shower designed to project a high narrow spray which will cover the entire body of a person standing in front of it. In this form of the invention the distributor head 30, having a substantially cylindrical portion 31 provided with air inlet ports 32, is provided with a narrow elongated outlet opening 33 through which the spray is discharged in a fan shape, which is elliptical in cross section.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the device contemplated by this invention is of simple and compact construction; it may be economically manufactured; and it entirely eliminates any dripping or clogging as occurs in the ordinary type of shower head. It also has the further advantage of throwing an extremely fine spray, the spread of which may be easily adjusted.

It is to be understood that, while I have herein described and illustrated one preferred form of my invention, the invention is not to be limited to the precise construction described above, but includes within its scope whatever changes fairly come within the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A shower bath head embodying: a hollow element having a large inlet chamber and a restricted outlet throat; a diaphragm provided with inclined slots in the top of said inlet chamber; I

said distributor having a passage therethrough coaxial with said throat and of substantially greater cross-sectional area than said throat, and

said slot being inclined so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm.

3. A shower bath head embodying: a hollow element having a large inlet chamber and a restricted outlet throat; a diaphragm provided with inclined slots in the top of said inlet chamber, said slots being inclined so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm; and a distributor on the outlet end of; said throat, said distributor having a passage therethrough coaxial with said throat and of substantially greater cross-sectional area than said throat, and the wall of said distributor having air inlet ports therein.

4. A shower bath head embodying: a hollow element having a large inlet chamber and a restricted outlet throat; a'diaphragm provided with inclined slots in the top of said inlet chamber, said slot being inclined so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm;

and a distributor on the outlet end of said throat, said distributor having a passage therethrough coaxial with said throat and of substantially greater cross-sectional area than said throat, andthe wall of said distributor having a plurality of air inlet ports therein, said ports being situated in a plane adjacent the outlet end of said throat.

5. A shower bath head embodying: a body having a large inlet chamber, a restricted throat and a large distributor chamber providing a substan- 130 tially straight open passage therethrough; and a diaphragm positioned across the inlet end of said inlet chamber, said diaphragm being provided with slots inclined and arranged so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm.

6. A shower bath head embodying: a body having a large inlet chamber, a restricted throat and a large distributor chamber providing a substantially straight open passage therethrough; and a slotted diaphragm positioned across the inlet end of said inlet chamber, said distributor chamber having a plurality of air inlet openings in its wall, and said slots being inclined so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm.

'7. A shower bath head embodying: a body having a large inlet chamber, a restricted throat and a large distributor chamber providing a substantially straight open passage therethrough; and a slotted diaphragm positioned across the inlet end of said inlet chamber, said distributor chamber having a plurality of air inlet ports in its wall near the point at which liquid is discharged from said throat, and said slots being inclined so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm.

8. A shower bath head embodying: a body having a large inlet chamber, a restricted throat and a large distributor chamber providing a substantially straight open passage therethrough; a slotted diaphragm positioned across the inlet end of said inlet chamber, the slots in said diaphragm being inclined and arranged so as to produce a whirling motion in the liquid stream below said diaphragm, said distributor chamber having a plurality of air inlet ports in its wall near the point at which liquid is discharged from said throat; and means for adjusting said distributor chamber axially relative to said throat.

9. A shower bath head embodying: a body having a large inlet chamber, a restricted throat and a large distributor chamber providing a substantially straight open passage therethrough; a slotted diaphragm positioned across the inlet end of said inlet chamber and means for adjusting said distributor chamber axially relative to said throat, the slots in said diaphragm being inclined and arranged so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm.

10. A shower bath head embodying: a hollow element having a large inlet chamber and a restricted outlet throat; a diaphragm provided with inclined slots in the top of said inlet chamber, said slots being inclined so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm; and a distributor adjustably mounted on the outlet end of said throat, said distributor having a passage therethrough coaxial with said throat and of substantially greater cross-sectional area than said throat, and the wall of said distributor having a plurality of air inlet ports therein, saidports being situated in a plane adjacent the outlet end of said throat.

11. A shower bath head embodying: a body having a large inlet chamber, a restricted throat and a large distributor chamber providing a substantially straight open passage therethrough; and a slotted diaphragm positioned across the inlet end of said inlet chamber, the slots in said diaphragm being inclined and arranged so as to produce a whirling motion in a liquid stream below said diaphragm, said distributor chamber having a narrow elongated discharge opening.

MILES E. ESTEP. 

